H's first novel, and a place to stay for a few months...

So we've been moving, a lot...  During the second half of January we moved into a short term rental which hopefully means we have a place to stay and unpack that will last more than a month or two, which is longer than we've lived anywhere since August of 2012.  It has a lot of carpet which is really making H's allergies and asthma flare up, but we all really need a break from moving and this was what we found so we are sticking here for a couple of months at least.

 Anyone who has been an overnight guest at our homes (ever) knows that we have never gotten around to making up proper accommodations with real beds for folks.  Until now, yes, above is pictured a proper, adult sized bed located in it's own dedicated bedroom, fully made up and ready to go should anyone need a place to crash.  Also relatively new, as this was H's mattress which she only used for a year or 2 before she upgraded...

 H's brand new bunk bed.  This was mainly mommy's idea, who always wanted one as a kid but never had one...  So now H can pick which bed she likes to sleep on, so far both have been used but currently she prefers the upper bunk.  I can imagine this will be so much fun for sleep overs.  :)

 H with her creatures on the top bunk...

 H has also recently gotten into writing stories, and quite interesting stories actually!  This is her first book for anyone who would like a sneak peak before it gets picked up for mass publication, she wrote it and did all the illustrations herself, we only helped her with spelling... :)

Hardbound and everything, my girl always thinks big...

January...

Catching up on some January pics...

 01-04-2013, pictures from the top of the building where we stayed in temporary housing through most of January (South Lake Union).

 It was a convenient spot to run outside when the sun appeared for a quick dragon flying session...

 MOHAI and Lake Union views...

 The bicycle parking squid in Seattle Center 01-05-2013...

Seattle Children's Museum, last good shot before the Canon S100 finally died for good...

 More Seattle Children's, fire fighting and building areas...

H started preschool here in January, she goes for a couple of hours 3 days a week and of course loves being around kids her age again, this was from a field trip on 01-10-13 to the Seattle Aquarium...

We've been moving a lot, and B has moved around in terms of physical location a lot at work too, a couple of times already since December.  This was one of his work views before a recent desk move, on a rare clear day when he could see the mountains...

 Girl's night out at Buca di Beppo while B was at a work function, H enjoyed the heart shaped bread...

 In addition to the 3 day per week co-op preschool we are doing, H is trying an outdoor once a week preschool as well through the Rec Center.  I had my doubts, but she LOVES it.  Apparently my girl who doesn't want to walk one city block without being carried when with us (and never is interested in going on walks) can walk for 1.5 hours when outside in the cold rain and mud with other kids.  :)  She loves discovering fungus, digging up bird bones, and investigating all the local flora and fauna.  Good for her, maybe this means we can go back outside and enjoy nature ourselves again soon!

 01-20-2013, local pizza place.  H has been really getting into drawing on her own lately, and is actually turning into quite the elaborate artist.  She recently finally was able to see Frankenweenie (we waited for it to be rentable so we could watch it with the lights on in case it was too scary in the dark), and has really been inspired by it.  She drew this to leave on the refrigerator at the restaurant...

Also inspired by Frankenweenie, she is exploring the art of engineering and inventing...

 These are pics of her elaborate Frankenweenie set-up to bring dolls and toys back to life with electricity...

 It was clear that a lot of thought and imaginative use of various types of tools when into this...

Daddy helped her to fashion this lighted tool, a combination of a pillar from a My Little Pony Castle playset taped to a flashlight...  We've been pretty impressed by H's ingenuity lately...